1. Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus supporting a peer to peer (P2P) connection, and more particularly, to a method of executing an application program in linkage with a dynamic Internet protocol (IP) address allocated to a wireless device connected to the image forming apparatus supporting the P2P connection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, peer to peer (P2P) communication technology, by which wireless devices may be directly connected to each other without an additional wireless connecting apparatus, have been generalized and widely used. For example, BLUETOOTH technology may be utilized to perform P2P communication. Although there are limitations in terms of transmission speed and transmission range of BLUETOOTH, new versions of BLUETOOTH are being developed to compensate for the limitations.
Wi-Fi is a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard based on IEEE 802.11 regulated by the Wi-Fi alliance. Wi-Fi is basically a technology using ultra-high speed Internet by accessing access points (APs) connected to an infrastructured network; however, Wi-Fi may be utilized to perform P2P communication by using an ad-hoc function. However, when the ad-hoc function is used, security is weakened, a transmission speed is lowered, and a setting method is not easily performed. Therefore, the Wi-Fi alliance has suggested a Wi-Fi Direct technology which may also be used to perform P2P communication. Wi-Fi Direct allows for a P2P connection between wireless devices without using an AP, supports a transmission speed of a maximum of 250 Mbps, and performs security settings by using Wi-Fi protected access 2 (WPA2), in order to address problems of the ad-hoc function. In addition, Wi-Fi Direct supports a transmission range of a maximum of 200 m, and thus, is considered as a substitute for performing P2P communication in place of Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, and the like.
As described above, with the appearance of Wi-Fi Direct, it is considered that utilization of P2P communication will further increase. In addition, P2P communication technology may also be applied to a variety of devices, including image forming apparatuses such as printers, scanners, facsimiles, and multi-function printers. Therefore, technologies for user authentication, controlling connections, controlling rights, and managing security are necessary for safely and conveniently using image forming apparatuses supporting a P2P connection.